Process for making pearl-button blanks



E. B. HAMMER, H. .H. KNOTT AND C. J. JUNGBLUTH.

PROCESS FOR MAKING PEARL BUTTON BLANKSH APPLICATION FILED JAN- !3, I920- Patented E iay 10, 1921 priate size by abrasive means or by grinding.

UNITED srarss PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN B. HAMMER, HARRY H. KNOTT, AND CARL J. JUNGBLUTH, OF WASHINGTON, IOWA, ASSIGNORS TO WASHINGTON MANUFACTURING GOMPANY, A CORPORATION OF IOWA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 10, 1921.

Application filed January 13, .1920. Serial No. 351,180.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that we, EDWIN B. HAMMER, HARRY H. Know, and CARL J. JUNGBLUTH, citizens of the United States, and residents ofWashington, in the county of VVashington and State of Iowa, have invented a certain new and useful Process for Making Pearl-Button Blanks, of which the following is a specification.

The object of our invention is to provide a process for making pearl button blanks from pieces of shell.

More particularly, its object is to provide a process for giving to the pieces of shell a round or circular shape and appro- More particularly, its object is to provide a process by which the piece of shell of appropriate size and form is mounted in a suitable manner for rotation and motion, and moved toward a rotating grinder so that the flat face or surface of the piece of shell is v subjected to steady grinding or abrasion,

, rather than to intermittent strlking grind- 25 ing action.

With these and other objects in view, our invention consists in the practice of the process as hereinafter more fully set forth in our description and claims, and illustrated in the drawings.

In the drawings we have illustrated a crude form of mechanism whereby the particular steps of our process now under consideration may be carried out. It will be understood that any suitable mechanical means may be employed in the operation of this process. We have invented machines for practising this process, whlch are the subject of other applications for patents filed February 28, 1920,Serial Number 361,983,

and filed March 30, 1920, Serial Number 370,041, and which are constructed somewhat diiferently than the one illustrated in the drawings herewith. lVe do not intend to limit our invention or claims to the use of any specific apparatus, but the machine .shown in the drawings herewith is submitted for the purpose of illustration.

Figure 1 shows a side elevation, partly in section, of a machine for practising our I process. 1

' Fig. 2 shows a plan view of a strip of shell.

Fig. 3 shows a plan View of a substantially square blank.

F g. 4- shows an outline of a shell illustrating the general manner of cutting the blanks therefrom.

Fig. 5 shows a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 shows a sectional view taken on the line 66 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 7 shows a slightly modified form of the blank holder.

,In order to explain the practice of our process and advantages thereof, it will probably be advisable to state that, heretofore, it has been the custom to cut the blanks from the shells by means of tubular saws, which cut from the shell a core or blank of the desired size and shape.

In thus sawing the blanks from the shells, a web, consisting of much shell material, must remain between the holes to support the material being cut, and the result is a considerable waste of the shell material.

We have found that by cutting the shell 1ntoangular pieces and preferably into square pieces, and then grinding'these square pieces so'as to give them a circularform and the desired diameter, we can effect a large saving, securing at least twenty-five per cent.

' to be cut from the shell; This shell, in the practice of our process is preferably cut into strips such as the strip 11, shown in Fig. 12, and the strips are preferably cut into squares 12, such as are illustrated in.

Fig. 3.

Shells from which button blanks are made are composed of material which is quite brittle and which breaks easily in handling and in operations changing the shape of its pieces. All methods heretofore known to us for shaping pieces of shell into round blanks by grinding, have involved some means for subjecting the peripheral edge of the piece to the grinding action of a roller, wheel, or disk, ;for removing bygrinding or abrasion the material of which the shell consists. It will be noted that therein, the grinding device or surface successively strikes the corners or more prominent extensions of the piece. By such process a succession of blows or shocks are given to the piece of shell, which, in practice, unavoidably results in much breakage or fracture of these brittle pieces, and the destruction of much material.

Our invention is of a process by which we avoid the difliculties found in the old methods mentioned above, and are able to utilize practically every blank or piece of shell without loss or waste.

By our method the substantially smooth surface of the side of the piece of shell is presented to the abrading means forits action without successively striking same, or being successively struck by it, and without shocks to the piece being ground, and the grinding process proceeds without injury to the material.

In practice of the particular steps of our process now under consideration the piece of shell 12, angular in outline, is gripped near its center on its opposite sides between the rotatable shaft 13, the end of which is arranged to engage the piece over a substantial area, and a pointed shaft 14, rotatably mounted and arranged for yielding sliding movement. The shaft 13 is arranged so that in operation of the machine it moves toward the grinding device, revolving and carrying with it the button blank, and the shafts 13 and 14 are so operated as to rotate in the same direction, and at substantially the same speed in operation of the machine, and both to maintain contact with and pressure upon the shell piece during the grindingwoperation.

ounted on a suitable shaft 17 is a grinding wheel, or the like 18. On the shaft 17 is a belt pulley 19 through which rotation may be imparted to the shaft 17 and the grinder 18.

The piece 12 is inserted between the shaft 14 and the shaft 13 with suflicient compression of the piece to firmly hold it during the succeeding operation.

Rotation is then imparted to the shafts 13, 14 and 17 and they are operated by any appropriate mechanism which will move the shafts 13 and 14 the proper distance along the axis of rotation at the proper time,

whereby the substantially flat face of the piece 12 is brought into contact with the surface of the grinder 18.

In practice of our process it is not material whether this be the periphery or the side surface of the grinder.

The process may be practised by moving the blank toward the grinder or moving the grinder toward the blank or moving each toward the other, but in any event, the fiat face of the blank should be subjected to abrasion. For illustrating some device for the purpose, we have shown the shaft 13 screw-threaded and mounted in a screw threaded bearing 15. The shaft 13 is provided with grooves 16 to receive lugs on the pulley mounted on said shaft so that the shaft may slide in'the pulley.

On the shaft 14 is a pulley 14 non-rotatably mounted so as to permit the sliding movement of said shaft. In Fig. 7 we have shown a slightly modified form of blank holding means in which the shafts 30 and 31 for holding the blanks are provided with tips or caps 32 of yieldable material.

It will of course be understood that the parts are set so that when the grinding is finished the completed button disk will be of the proper diameter as illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 5.

When the grinding means has ground through the blank from side to side, shafts 13 and 14 are moved back to the original position, shaft. 13 being raised so as to leave a space between the two, and the finished blank is removed from between them.

Where the flat faces of the button blanks are ground in the manner herein described and the blank is moved against the grinder it will be seen that the button blank, during grinding, is always in contact with the grinding surface, and is subjected to steady grinding action instead of to successive striking action or successive blows.

By the old method the blank is ground from the periphery radially inward, but by our new method the blank is ground from one side surface to the other, and the surface being ground is, substantially, in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the blank.

We claim as our invention j 1. The process of making a button blank from a piece of fragile material, such as mussel shell, which readily chips, comprising the rotation of said piece and the movement of the rotating piece against the substantially flat face of a moving grinder in the direction of the axis of rotation of the piece and parallel with the axis of rotation of the piece and parallel to the axis of ro tation of the grinder so that the substantially fiat surface of the blank, rather than the periphery thereof, is brought into contact with the grinder, and until, by such grinding, a circular form and appropriate diameter is given to each piece.

2. The process of making a button blank from a piece of shell comprising the mounting of each piece for rotation and for sliding movement in the direction of the axis of rotation, and the movement of the rotating piece so mounted in the line of its axis of rotation against a moving grinder, in such manner that the substantially fiat surface of the blank immediately adjacent to the final periphery of the blank to be produced is brought into contact With the grinder, until, by such grinding, a circular form and appropriate diameter is given to such piece.

3. The process of making a button blank from shell, comprising the mounting of such piece for rotation and adjacent to a rotating grinder, said piece and said grinder having parallel axes of rotation, and the imparting of relative axial movement to the piece and the grinder for causing a face of such mounted piece to be subjected to grinding action or abrasion by the fiat face of the grinder, until, by such grinding,

a circular form and appropriated diameter is given to such piece, the parts being so arranged that the contact of the grinder with the piece during the grinding action is immediately adjacent .to the final periphery of the blank to be formed.

4. The process of making a blank for a button or the like from a piece of shell, comprising the mounting of said piece for rotation adjacent to a rotating grinder, the

axes of rotation of the piece and grinder being parallel, and the substantially flat or lateral surface of the piece being parallel With a flat face of the grinder, and the imparting of relative movement to the piece and grinder for bringing the surface of the piece into engagement With the substantially parallel surface of the grinder from the periphery of the piece to the periphery of the blank to be formed and the continuation of such movement until a round blank is completed.

EDWIN B. HA M M ER. HARRY H. KNOTT. CARL J. JUNGBLUTH. 

